Strength to Find Her Way

Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Liam POV

I was woken up by a tickling sensation on my face. I wiggled my nose but the feeling didn't go away. Reluctantly opening my eyes I saw a bunch of light brown hair in front of me. Quinn. She's still here.

I slowly moved my hand from her waist to my face to brush the strands away. As my arm left contact with her, she whimpered and snuggled herself closer to me. This wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that my friend was feeling a bit excited this morning. Her butt rubbed against my rock hard member making me groan audibly, shutting my eyes. The movement stopped and I opened my eyes to see her green ones staring sleepily at me.

"Good morning, my love," I whispered.

"Mmm," she said, stretching her arms above her head. "Good morning."

She smiled lazily in my direction and I returned her smile. It was absolute heaven waking up with her in my arms.

She turned around so she was facing me fully now. I saw one of the hickeys I'd given her last night poking out of the shirt. I hope she wouldn't be too mad when she saw them. My wolf was going crazy not having his mark on her by now so I compromised and left a few well placed hickeys on her. It'll keep my scent on her long enough for everyone to know she's been claimed but it isn't permanent. I have a feeling it isn't going to go over well though.

"What time is it?" she asked.

I reluctantly turned around to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "It's seven o'clock."

"Hmm," she responded, shutting her eyes again. "I'm late for my workout."

"Skip the workout today," I said before pulling her impossibly closer. "Let me work you out instead." I grinned while waggling my eyebrows at her.

She giggled in response. "Liam, you know I don't skip workouts. It's bad enough I'm running late. You're not gonna make me go soft are you? Cuz I'll kick your butt if you do."

I held up my hands in surrender. "Nope, I don't need any of that today. You go do what you gotta do. I'm going to lay here a little longer. You can handle yourself right?"

I knew I didn't need to ask but my wolf wouldn't let her leave without her assurance. Especially after our interaction with the rogue by the stream yesterday. I still hadn't heard back from any of my sources on where he was from or what he wanted. I know Quinn was trying to get information out of him but I didn't hear what he told her. Honestly I didn't even ask her. I was so worried in the moment that it completely slipped my mind once I knew she was okay.

"Liam," Quinn called out to me, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Uh, yeah?" I responded.

"You're going to have to let me go if I'm going to get in any workout at all," she gestured towards my arms that were now wrapped tighter around her than before.

"Right," I chuckled.

Now was not the time to ask either. It could be nothing.

Quinn rolled off the bed gracefully and I watched with great interest as she stretched, lifting my shirt up for me to get a peek of her underwear.

"It's rude to stare," she commented.

"Call me rude then," I responded. "Because I like the view."

She scowled in my direction but didn't say anything else. She went to pick up her discarded clothes from the chair and headed for the door.

"I'll see you later?" I asked before she turned the knob.

"Absolutely," she replied with a huge grin.

"Great. Be safe, my love."

"I will," she replied before she disappeared and the door closed behind her.

At that moment I decided to mind link the guards who I'd brought with me from the palace.

'Quinn is about to go on her morning run. I will not be joining her today. Make sure she is safe while she is out. Set up a perimeter around the pack as you'll have trouble keeping up with her and will need to trade roles frequently.'

'Yes, your highness,' was the only reply and it was all I needed.

I may not be king yet but I have earned the respect of those under me. That was one of the perks of my father handing over the title to me bit by bit. I've learned how to be a ruler in all aspects of the job. I can't let it get to my head because I see how many people depend on me. I must be fair and confident.

I knew I couldn't sleep more so I decided to check my email on my phone in bed. If there was anything pressing I could take care of it now. A king's job is never done. Or in my case, a soon-to-be king.

I scrolled through the dozen or so emails I'd received since I'd last checked and there was nothing pressing. I could deal with it all after Quinn had gone to school. I stretched a bit before deciding to get up. Maybe Quinn would get done early enough to have breakfast today.

I took a shower, shaved, and did everything else to prepare myself for the day. I was just about ready when I heard a loud shriek from next door. It sounded like Quinn. I dropped everything and headed for her room. The door was open and I could hear her and Suze having a heated discussion.

"I'm going to kill him!" she shrieked again.

"Quinn, calm down. It's going to be okay," Suze attempted to soothe my mate.

I took one more step and immediately made eye contact with Quinn.

"You!" she shouted. "What the hell were you thinking doing this to me??" She pulled her collar to the side showing me the hickeys.

I cringed a bit as I saw the pure rage in her eyes. Maybe it was a worse idea than I'd originally thought.

She started stomping towards me and I froze on the spot. "Aren't you going to say anything? What? Lose all your confidence this morning?" she spat, inches away from my face.

"Quinn," I began but she cut me off.

"Nevermind. Save it. I don't want to hear your lame excuses. I told you I wasn't ready to be claimed by you yet but you decided to put a mark on me anyways. You need to think about what you did. I don't know if I can be with someone who can't respect my wishes."

Quinn pushed past me and Suze followed behind, giving me an apologetic smile. I was frozen in place for a few moments before I decided to follow them.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I heard someone call from behind me. It was Ethan.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking back towards the way they'd just left. I could sense they were still in the pack house but they'd be leaving soon.

"I totally understand what you were thinking doing that but I don't think Quinn is ready to listen to you just yet. Let her cool down. Suze can help. I'll keep tabs on them and check in with Suze to see how things are going. Quinn is still your mate. She'll forgive you. It just might take a little longer. You've got yourself a firecracker there," he slapped me on the back but I just stood there frozen.

He says that Quinn will forgive me but I'm not sure if he's right. We made so much progress last night and I feel like I lost every bit of it in that one moment of weakness. See if I ever listen to my wolf again.

'Don't act like you didn't want to do it too,' he snarled.

He's right. He might have suggested it but I went along with the idea. It'll take a day or so for the hickeys to heal so even though it isn't permanent, it was marking her body without her permission. I feel horrible now. I let my jealousy of those unmated wolves get the best of me and I hurt my mate. Ethan was right though. I need to let Quinn cool down so we can talk about everything later. I'll do everything I can to explain to her how sorry I am.

"I want updates every hour, Ethan," I barked before heading down the stairs to my office.

I wish I didn't need to go through Ethan to get updates on my own mate but it was better than nothing. I shut the door to my office and sat down in the chair. This was going to be a long day.